The Guns of ‘Hell Or High Water’

This Modern Western from Taylor Sheridan Features Some Well-Chosen Firearms

Taylor Sheridan became widely famous for his TV show creation Yellowstone and its multiple spinoffs, but before he stepped into the series “creator” role, he was an actor who was tired of getting mediocre parts and decided to transition to screenwriting. It was a good move. The first movie he wrote hit big, the excellent Sicario (2015). He followed it up with the second entry in what some call his modern Western trilogy, Hell or High Water (2016), then followed by Wind River (2017). 

Since then, he’s been behind not only the Yellowstone properties of 1883 and 1923 but also the successful Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone and Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner, who was also in Wind River. Hell Or High Water stands out as a modern take on what you could call the hopeless outlaw tale. 

Both the outlaw and the law suffer losses. In the end, one could argue the scales are once again balanced after two brothers, one a farmer and the other an ex-con, set off on a spree of bank robberies through West Texas to save their family property from a duplicitous bank. 

Of course, the film also follows two Texas Rangers on their trail, Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham). Everyone is on point in this movie, and just as with Wind River and Sicario, the production team was careful to get the guns right. 

Let’s look at what a pair of bank-robbing brothers pack to rob a bunch of banks, and what the Rangers after them have on hand. 

The Outlaws 

Both Howard brothers use handguns while robbing banks throughout Hell Or High Water.

Smith & Wesson Model 686 & Glock 17

Tanner (Ben Foster) goes for the intimidation factor with a stainless .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 686 revolver with a 4-inch barrel. While it’s not a .44, it still looks like a lot of gun in the hand when being wielded by a dude with crazy eyes wearing a ski mask. 

Toby (Chris Pine) uses a simple, plain-jane Glock 17 9mm pistol as his bank-robbing sidearm.

When the brothers head off for their final robberies, Tanner grabs a couple of long guns in cases, stashes them in their trunk, and then moves them to the pickup truck they buy. When their last robbery goes sideways, Tanner uses one of those guns to buy enough time for Toby to get away. 

Colt Model 933 AR

He takes out a Colt Model 933 in full auto with two 30-round magazines taped together “jungle style.” It’s also outfitted with a Sightmark Sure Shot reflex sight, but it doesn’t matter because he proceeds to dump both mags from the hip at the approaching police cars, which gives them pause.

The Model 933 is a compact AR-15-based carbine and the military M4 Carbine that Colt started cranking out in 1995. It has since become a favorite of various Special Forces groups in the U.S. and Israeli Special Forces, who prefer its 11.5-inch barrel.  

Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS Rifle

While the wounded Toby takes off, Tanner draws the pursuing police away from him as he takes up a position high in the hills and uses his other long gun, a scoped Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS bolt-action rifle. 

He keeps the police at bay for quite a while by raining down sniper fire, killing Ranger Parker in the process, but Tanner knows it’s his last stand. 

Hell Or High Water: The Rangers

While they don’t get involved in much gunplay, the two Rangers are, of course, armed. Hamilton carries what looks like a Colt Commander 1911 with tag grips in an OWB strong-side holster — a fitting choice for someone his age.

A Couple 1911s With A Little Flash

From what we can see, it has a stainless steel frame, ambidextrous extended thumb safeties, a flared magwell, a three-hole lightweight trigger, and an extended beavertail grip safety.

Parker carries a full-size 1911 with a blued or parkerized frame and slide and ivory or faux ivory grip panels in a leather OWB strong-side holster.

Neither men appear to carry any additional magazines on their belts.  

Parker’s Custom AR

While neither draw their pistols during the movie, when police corner Tanner in the hills, Parker gets behind a custom AR that might be a Colt AR-15A3 Tactical Carbine. The gun in the movie has a 16-inch barrel, an ERGO F93 PRO 8-position stock, an ERGO Ultra Lite S handguard, an ACOG sight, and a railed gas block. 

He takes up a firing position behind their car, but he never gets to use his AR — a headshot from Tanner’s rifle puts him down on the spot, and Hamilton orders the police to get back while he circles around and flanks Tanner with a rifle-carrying citizen who knows the terrain. 

Pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 Rifle

When Hamilton is able to get a long, clear shot at Tanner from another hill, he takes him down with a single headshot from a pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 bolt gun. It’s fitting since Tanner is using a newer version of the same iconic rifle. 

The last firearm we see is Toby’s, a Marlin Model 1881 lever gun that he carries on his property when Hamilton comes to visit him after some time has passed for a terse exchange.